


How Lucas Got Banned from Every Future Party Ever

by fallingleaves



Series: Chronicles of the Allen Children [6]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Drug Use, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Procedures, Medical Trauma, Pain, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking, drug overdose, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-08 10:37:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6851329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingleaves/pseuds/fallingleaves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael brings Lucas and Leah to a party.  Lucas decides it would be a great idea to try a combination of hard drugs to see if it does anything with his speedster metabolism.  Michael regrets his decisions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> Michael 18  
> Lucas and Leah 16  
> Wentworth 13  
> Cyrus 12
> 
> WARNING: drug use, and basically overdose kind of? It's not pretty. Also, I have no knowledge of drugs, and I'm pretty sure medically this makes about absolutely zero sense, but I'm chalking it up to speedster related medical abnormalities.  
> Also, this chapter is really short, but there's more coming soon, promise. Anyway, here you go :)

 

 

            Michael’s eyes were narrowed.  He looked first at Leah, then at Lucas, and back again.

            “You,” he said, pointing at Leah, “do not drink too much.”  He turned to Lucas, “and you – stay away from the senior girls.”  Lucas opened his mouth, but Michael already had his hand up.  “They don’t want to talk to you.  Alicia doesn’t care and May already thinks you’re a stalker.  They’ll be other sophomores there –”

            “I literally just say hi to her,” Lucas sputtered, “why does she think I’m a stalker?  I don’t stalk her!”

            Michael glared.  “It doesn’t matter,” he said, “just stay away from them.  They’re stuck-up and irritating anyway.  And –” he turned to Leah, “if I find you with any of my friends, I’ll kill you both.”

            Leah snorted.  “I’d like to see you try.”

            Michael ignored her.  “I’m staying the night.  You two aren’t.  Lucas, you’re in charge of bringing Leah back.  I won’t be driving.”  He looked between the two of them one more time.  “And I swear to God, you two ruin this, and I’m never taking you to a party again.”

            And with that he grabbed his keys and walked out the door, Leah and Lucas following a moment later.

 

 

 

 

            The party was at some senior guy, Tom’s, house that was friends with Michael.  His parents were out of town and he had a semi-finished basement the size of a three car garage, all open.  They could hear music blasting as Michael drove up the street, but the house was in the middle of the woods with no neighbors around, so there was little chance of anyone being caught.  Michael parked his car on the side of the driveway, behind a row of other vehicles.

            Michael wasn’t really a huge partier, but it was the weekend after Tom’s birthday and he had insisted that Michael come.  He had been to a few of Tom’s parties before but this was by far the largest yet.  It looked like half the school was there, mostly seniors, but plenty of underclassmen too.  Probably how Leah found out about the thing.  She had started begging Michael to bring her a week ago, which Lucas quickly tagged onto, and after several days of constant hounding from Leah and a steady combination of poorly done guilt-tripping and passive aggressive side comments from Lucas, he had finally caved and told them they could come.

            It wasn’t really that bad.  The party was big enough that he wouldn’t actually have to interact with his siblings.  Lucas couldn’t drink and Leah could usually handle her own, so he wasn’t too worried about them getting into trouble or winding up passed out somewhere.  The music was already giving Michael a headache by the time they were at the front steps, and he could already tell this wasn’t going to be all that fun.  Most of his friends were likely to already be there and already be sufficiently drunk, and Michael had learned pretty quickly that alcohol did some weird things to his speed-thoughts that he didn’t particularly enjoy.  They walked in and Tom was nowhere to be found, so Michael sighed, got himself a beer, and went in search of someone he was both friendly with and was still sober enough to hold a conversation.

 

 

 

 

            Leah was talking with her friends, eyeing a boy in her English class across the room who kept looking at her, when she saw Lucas stumble in from the side door with a group of guys.  She didn’t recognize most of them.  She knew one of the guys, a friend of both Lucas’s and her, but thought the rest were juniors.  She turned her attention back to the boy, eyes flicking over to find him looking at her again.  He looked away immediately, but Leah kept her eyes on him until he glanced up again.  A shy smile started on his face and Leah was just starting to smile back when her friend Katherine tapped her on the shoulder twice.

            “Dude, your brother is wasted,” she said.

            Leah looked to where Lucas was standing, grinning like an idiot and stumbling, eyes following nothing, like he was staring at something the rest of them couldn’t see.

            Leah rolled her eyes.  “He’s pretending,” she said.  “He has a medical condition – can’t drink, but don’t tell him I told you that.”

            Katherine frowned as Leah looked back over at her.  She was still watching Lucas, now with a twinge of concern on her face.  “Are you sure, Leah?  He looks out of it.”

            Leah frowned and looked back to see Lucas stumble and hit the wall, then giggle before sliding down it.  She blinked.  He couldn’t get drunk, not as a speedster.  There had been several occasions where she had seen him down shot after shot, had even chugged a handle of vodka once to see if it would do anything.  When he finally resigned to the fact that it didn’t work, he had found some consolation in that it was a neat party trick.  Most of his friends were convinced he had some freaky condition that made him super tolerant to alcohol.  He would speed through ten or twelve shots and then pretend to be a little drunk and they were always so surprised when he didn’t have a hangover the next day.

            But he was overdoing it.  Overdoing it big time.  He was sitting against the wall now, one of his friends trying to help him up, but neither had enough coordination for it to happen.  Lucas’s eyes were still following things that weren’t there.

            “I’ll be right back,” Leah said, and handed her drink to Katherine.

            Leah smiled at the group of guys around her brother, giving an over-excited “Lucas!” and then kneeled down next to him.

            “What the fuck are you on,” she whispered.

            Lucas giggled, which was alarming in itself, and then she saw his eyes, the pupils tiny, and the way they were glazed over.

            “Fuck,” she said.  She straightened up, turning to their friend, the one in the group she knew.  “What did you guys take?” she asked.

            He laughed.  “Man, I dunno, but you should try it.”

            “You don’t know?” she asked.

            “Why, you want some?” he asked.

            Leah swallowed her exasperation.  “Just what is it?” she snapped.

            “Yo, chill,” he said, “you’re not gonna call the cops or somethin’ right?”

            “No, of course not,” she said, “I just – yeah, I want some, so what is it?”

            But he was looking her up and down.  “I dunno, Leah, think it might be a little much for –

            “What the fuck is it?” she snapped.

            “OK, geez, chill.  It’s meth, alright, but stop shouting, and, you’re gonna have to pay.  They’re not giving it out, and –”

            “Meth?” she asked.  “He’s on meth?”  She pointed at Lucas, still on the floor.

            “I dunno, man, he’s on something.”

            Leah stared at him, “What do you mean?  He wasn’t with you?”

            “Think he saw Carter first,” the guy said, and he shrugged.  “heard he had Ecstasy.  I dunno, but he’s fucked up.  Gonna be one hell of a –”

            Leah was already dragging Lucas up, one hand around his shoulder.  He was going with her, but completely uncoordinated and stumbling, and then she was looking for Michael.  She found him across the room and was ten feet away when Michael saw them, made eye contact, and excused himself from the conversation he was in.  By the time he made it over he was practically seething.

            “What the fuck did you two do?” he asked, his teeth gritted.

            “I think he’s on Ecstasy,” she said, “or meth.  Or both.”

            “The fuck,” Michael mumbled, ducking his head to try and get Lucas to look at him, but his eyes didn’t focus, just kept wandering.  He was humming now.  “How the fuck is that even working on him?” he asked, “shouldn’t he burn through it?”

            “I don’t know,” Leah said, “what do we do?”

            Michael sucked in a breath.  He grabbed Lucas’s wrist, feeling the pulse.  He looked back up at Leah.  “It’s slow,” he said, a little shock in his voice.  Lucas’s pulse was unnaturally fast, and it felt slow even for a normal person.

            “Isn’t ecstasy a stimulant?” she said.

            “Yes,” he said.  He tried to get eye contact again and then closed his eyes for a second, pressing a hand into his forehead.  “I’m gonna kill him when this is through,” he said, and then took Lucas from Leah, grabbing his arm and throwing it over his shoulder.

            “Mikey,” Lucas said, smiling again, as if only now realizing that it was Michael next to him.

            “Oh, Jesus Christ,” Michael mumbled, and then started dragging him out of there.

            They made it to the car and Michael pushed Lucas into the backseat.  He tumbled down so he was lying there instead of sitting.

            “Can you drive?” Leah asked.

            “Yeah,” Michael said.  He had only gone through about a drink and a half and he felt fine.  Besides, his speed-thoughts meant he had an extremely faster reaction time then most people.  If anything, the amount of alcohol he had drank might have brought him down to normal, but he didn’t even think it had done that much.

            Michael pulled out his phone and brought it to his ear after punching in a number.  It rang twice, Michael tense the whole time.

            “Hello?”

            “Um, Aunt Caitlin,” he said, “it’s Michael.”


	2. The Father's Arrive

By the time they reached Star Labs, Lucas was shivering, sweating, and appeared to be in some half-awake state, moving restlessly while mumbling and whining, eyes mostly closed.

            Caitlin had Michael deposit him on a bed and then she took a blood sample and hooked up an IV, running fluids through.  About ten minutes later Lucas started vibrating, and then whimpering and crying out, eyes still closed.

            Leah held his hand, feeling numb.  Michael gave in and called their parents.

            “Hi Da, um, it’s – it’s me, it’s Michael, and I – I’m at Star.  With Lucas and Leah.  No, well, Lucas… well he should be OK – Aunt Cait said he should be fine but you need to get here.  Just… just come here?”

            “Did you tell him?” Leah asked when he came back.

            Michael cringed.  “No.”

 

 

 

            By the time Len got there Lucas was vibrating and jerking, eyes half-lidded, and he was crying out.  Caitlin told Michael to make sure he didn’t bang his head and then administered something into his IV.  It didn’t do anything, and she swore, took another blood sample, and disappeared for a moment to analyze it. 

            It was terrifying.  Leah’s face was pale, and she was still holding his hand.  He was covered in sweat, face pale, the heart monitor on him beeping like crazy.  While his pulse had been too slow when they first got in the car it was now way too fast, even for him.

            Caitlin had just gotten back, administering another drug to the IV, when Len rushed in.  Lucas stilled, his movements becoming subdued, the vibrating stopping for fitful shaking instead, and the noises coming out of his mouth going softer. 

            “What’s going on?” Len asked.  He was by Lucas’s side in a second, taking in his prone form, the obvious signs of sickness.  He turned to Caitlin.

            She pursed her lips and looked at Michael.  When he didn’t respond she sighed.  “He’s got quite the cocktail of drugs in his system right now.  I’ve managed to get the cleansing his body is trying to do under control, but he’s not going to be feeling great for a couple days at least this time.”

            “Drugs?” Len said, his eyebrows shooting up.  “He was on drugs?  What drugs?”

            Caitlin took in a long breath.  “I found traces of opiates as well as methamphetamine and ecstasy.”

            “I’m sorry, what?” Len said.

            Caitlin just sighed.  “He’ll be fine,” she said, “there won’t be any long lasting damage, but the amount in his body would have killed any normal person.”

            Len turned around, the expression on his face nothing Michael had ever seen before.  His eyes settled on him.

            “How did this happen?” he said.  He looked to Leah, waiting.

            Michael knew when it was no longer any value in lying.  He grimaced.  “We went to a party,” he admitted.

            “You all did, all three of you?” he asked.  They nodded.  “Are either of you two on anything?”

            “No,” Michael and Leah said at the same time, but Len’s eyes narrowed.

            “You’ve been drinking,” he said.  Neither of them responded, and Len put a hand against his head.  “Can either of you drive?”

            “I drove us here,” Michael said.  “I’m – I can drive.  I didn’t… I’m fine to drive.”

            “Go home,” Len said.

            Michael blinked.  Leah didn’t move.

            Len looked up at them.  “You heard me.  Go home.”

            “Da –,” Leah started.

            “No,” Len said, “I don’t want to hear it.  We can have a discussion about this later.  Now, you two go home, go to bed.  You heard Caitlin, Lucas will be fine.  Your father will want to be here when he finds out.  I need you to watch Wentworth and Cyrus.”

            “I want to stay with Lucas,” Leah said.  Her voice shook.

            Len looked to see tears gathering in his eyes.  It shocked him.  Leah was usually very good at calming Lucas down when he was anxious about medical procedures, and he hadn’t seen Leah cry since she was very young.

            “Leah,” he said, his voice softer now, some of the frustration and anger leaking away.  “Go home with Michael.  Lucas is going to be just fine.  I know you want to stay with him, but I need you to go home.”

            Leah’s mouth pursed into a thin line, and for a moment Len thought she really would start crying, but then she sniffed and wiped at her face.  She stood up stiffly and after one last squeeze to Lucas’s hand turned around and started heading out.  She didn’t even look back.

            Michael’s mouth opened and closed.  He looked at Len.  “Da…”

            Len shook his head.  “We’ll talk about this later.”

            “I’m sorry,” Michael said, “I – I didn’t know he was going to do this, I – I know I never should have brought them anyway, but I didn’t – he can’t drink, I didn’t think he would get into any trouble and Leah is always fine, so I didn’t –”

            “Michael,” he said, and he let out a long breath.  “This is not your fault,” he said, “and I am very upset with all three of you right now, but this – Lucas – this isn’t your fault, OK?  I’m not blaming you for that.  He made his own decisions, and I don’t… I don’t know what happened or what led to this, but it’s not your fault, OK?  We’ll talk about it more later.”

            Michael nodded, looking miserable, and then left as well.

            Len called Barry.  It was not a conversation he wanted to have.  Barry sped over the minute Michael and Leah got home, and then sat down at Lucas’s side, the same chair Leah had been, took his hand, and didn’t let go.  He didn’t say one word, not even when Len tried to talk to him, or Caitlin told him that Lucas would be fine.

            “He was probably just experimenting,” Len said, “he probably didn’t think it would do anything, and thought maybe it would give him a little high.”

            Barry didn’t say anything.

            When Lucas did wake up, he was disoriented and confused, and he was in pain.  He lay twitching on the bed, whimpering.  He didn’t say anything, but he was obviously at least somewhat aware, his eyes following both Len and Barry, his expression pained and scared.  Barry just held his hand and Len combed a hand through his hair.

            He fell into a restless sleep a little while later and didn’t wake up until around three in the morning.  He was a little more lucid then, but still looking confused.

            “D-Dad?” he said, his breathing fast as he realized where he was.

            “Just relax,” Len said, his voice gentle.  As much as he was angry and frustrated and confused, it was also breaking his heart to see Lucas in pain and so fearful.

            “W-what happened?” he asked.  He looked at the IV in his arm, and then cringed and whimpered.  “Everything h-hurts,” he said.

            “You took a bunch of drugs, Lucas,” Len said, “do you remember?”

            Lucas froze, and then a deep look of dread entered his expression.  He nodded slowly.

            “They made you sick,” Len said, “they made you very, very sick.”

            Lucas didn’t say anything, just looked anxiously from Len to Barry, the dread still in his eyes, guilt too, and regret.  He was tensed, waiting for whatever was coming next.

            “We’ll talk about it later, Lucas,” Len said, “just try to relax now.”

            Lucas fell asleep again, and then Len dozed off in his chair, but when he woke around eight the next morning he found Barry still awake, in the same position, still holding Lucas’s hand.  Len wouldn’t be surprised if he had stayed up all night.

            When Lucas woke up next he asked for water, and Caitlin managed to coax half a calorie bar into him.  He was still in pain, and by the way he moved and was still trying to stifle whimpers every once in a while, he was in quite a bit of pain.

            “What happened, Luke?” Barry asked when Caitlin had walked out and Lucas had eaten half the bar.

            Luke’s eyes went down, to the blanket over him.  He was holding it in both hands now, having let go of Barry’s.

            “Luke,” Len said carefully, “We need… we need to know if this has been ongoing or if this is the first ti-”

            “This has never happened before,” he said, “I’ve never gotten sick, it – it’s never hurt like this.”  His voice went quiet at the end.

            “But you’ve done it before?” Len said.

            Lucas cringed.  “Um…”

            “Tell us the truth, Lucas,” Len said, his voice quiet, but the message clear.

            “I um… I’ve tried stuff before,” he said, “but it’s never made me sick.  It doesn’t even usually do _anything_.”

            “What have you tried?” Len asked, not sure he wanted to know.

            Lucas was silent.

            “Lucas,” Len said, his voice firm.

            “Pot,” Lucas said, “and… and some prescription stuff… you know, painkillers, but that… those didn’t do anything.  Um… I… tried acid… but that… I think I got a little high?  But it lasted maybe two minutes.  This was the first time I tried meth or ecstasy.  I… I didn’t think it would do anything.”

            Len took in a long breath.  Barry looked like he was going to be sick.

            “I don’t do anything dangerous,” Lucas said, “Like – like with needles… I was just… I’m sorry.”  He took in a long breath, looking intently down, not at them.  “I was stupid.  It was stupid, I’m sorry.  I was just fooling around.  Everyone was drunk and I can’t get drunk so I – I didn’t think of it as being dangerous because nothing ever affects me, so I thought that… I thought at most it might give me a quick high.  I didn’t think it be as intense as it was.  I didn’t think I’d get sick from it, I – I thought for sure it be over before fifteen minutes was up anyway.  I was dumb, I’m sorry.”

            “Lucas,” he said, “you don’t know how these things will affect your body.  If there was a drug that was safe for you to use Caitlin would have already been using it on you to either help with the anxiety or the pain of medical procedures.  These drugs are not safe, even for you.”

            “I know,” he said, “I guess I just… I didn’t think it really do much. I thought maybe meth would be like pot for me.”

            “It’s not,” Len said flatly.

            “Yeah, I got that,” Lucas said, taking in a shaky breath, and Len was once again reminded that he was still in a significant amount of pain.

            “We’ll talk more about it later,” he decided.  “We’re just glad… we’re glad this hasn’t been ongoing,” Len said, “at least not to this extent.”

            “It hasn’t,” Lucas said quickly, “it’s never worked before.  I mean, not that this really counts as working, since, you know…”

            Since he was in pain.  Since he got sick.  Caitlin said he probably would have been OK without medical treatment, but she was very glad Michael and Leah brought him in.  There was the possibility of a seizure.

            “You need to rest right now,” Len said, “and I know you’re in pain.  And no matter how angry, or upset we are, we don’t ever want you to be in pain.”  Lucas looked up, his face twisted.  Len took his hand gently.  “We’ll talk about it more when you’re all healed up, OK?  For now we really need you to rest, and try to relax.”

            Lucas nodded, but his eyes went down again.


	3. Complication

Caitlin would change out his IV bags at intervals.  They set up a TV for him, and Michael was coming by with his laptop.  Caitlin said he was going to have to stay another night, to which Lucas was extremely unhappy about.  She did move him to another room, since he hated being in the main med area so much.

            She asked him at intervals how the pain was too.  His answer was a steady four for a while.

            But Len could tell he was struggling.  He wasn’t so sure how accurate that four was.  It looked like he was trying to tough it out for them.  He looked guilty, and Len could tell by now that it wasn’t an act, that he felt bad about the whole thing, about how worried they were, about how badly the whole thing had gone, and Len was pretty sure he hadn’t been lying during their conversation.  But they had left it alone after finishing.  They really did need him to relax, and Len didn’t want to add stress on top of his anxiety and pain.  Len knew how much he hated being in medical areas, and he was constantly reminding Lucas not to pick at the IV.  He seemed to be growing more agitated with it the longer he was there.

            Len kept asking at intervals how the pain was, and Lucas kept saying four, even as he seemed to wince and move more.  Len thought maybe it was the anxiety, and Barry was frowning, asking him to breathe with him, but Lucas shook his head.  He was silent, teeth clenched, as Len rubbed a hand smoothly over his arm, and Barry held his hand.

            Len was watching the TV they had set up when he heard Lucas stifle what sounded like a sob.

            He turned to find tears gathering in Lucas’s eyes.  He frowned and reached over, combing his hand through Lucas’s hair.

            “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked.

            Lucas shook his head, biting down hard, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.  Barry was squeezing his hand, looking between Lucas and Len, worry clear on his face.

            “Is it the pain?” Len asked.

            Lucas hesitated, and then nodded fast.

            “Can you give me a number?”

            “Seven,” he burst.  He took in several gasping breaths, shaking, body bursting into tremors.  “It hurts… it hurts, Da.”

            Lucas could feel tears brimming in his eyes.  He blinked, trying hard not to cry, but a few moments later a tear ran down his face anyway.  Barry reached up and wiped it away with his thumb, but there was already another trailing down his face by that point.

            “Where does it hurt?” Len asked.

            “Everywhere,” he said, taking in a sharp breath.  “My head though… my head is worse.”

            Len frowned.  “Did this come on suddenly?”

            Lucas hesitated, looked down, and shook his head.

            Len felt relief, knowing that it wasn’t likely any new problem if it had been gradual, then he realized what that meant.

            “Luke, why didn’t you tell us it was getting worse?” Len asked.

            Lucas sniffed.  “I’m sorry.”

            “Luke,” Len said, shaking his head.  “You can tell us how it is.  That’s why I asked.  We can’t help you if you don’t tell us how you’re doing.”

            “You can’t help anyway,” Lucas said, closing his eyes, his face screwing up.  “There’s no anesthetics.  It doesn’t matter how much it hurts, you – you can’t do anything.”  He squeezed his eyes shut.  “Oh, God, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to take so much, I just wanted to try it, I didn’t know how much it was.”  He let out another sob.  “Please, I’m sorry.  I just want it to stop, please.”

            “Lucas,” Len said, getting concerned now, “it’s OK.  We know you’re sorry.  We know you didn’t mean for this to happen.  It’s OK.”

            “Eight,” Lucas said, “please.”

            “I’m calling Caitlin,” Barry said.

            “Luke, can you tell me what hurts.  Is it still your head the worst?” Len said.

            Lucas was hyperventilating now, shaking his head, and then his body started vibrating.

            “I’m sorry,” he cried out, “please stop – please make it stop.  Please, it hurts.”

            Barry was gone in a sudden flash of lightening, and Len had about five seconds to be completely confused by it, and then he was back and putting Caitlin down.  She wasted no time.

            “Lucas, what hurts?” she asked.

            “E-everything,” he gasped.  “Au-aunt Cait help, please.”

            He was moving too much now, trying to sit up, writhing.  He pulled his hand out of Barry’s and then grabbed at the IV, trying to pull it out.  Len grabbed his hands, stopping him.

            “Easy, Luke.  You need that.  You need the IV in.”

            “Please – w-want it ou-out,” he said, struggling with him.  “It hurts, Da.”

            “I know it hurts,” Len said, “Can you tell me where, Luke? Is it still your head?”

            Lucas nodded.  “It burns,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut for a second.

            Caitlin put something into Luke’s IV and he tensed and flinched away.

            “That hurts,” he cried, “Stop – don’t.”

            “It’s going to sting for a second,” Caitlin said. “It should help, Lucas.  Just give it a moment.”  She put her hand on his shoulder, and Barry took one of his hands from Len, the one with the IV, holding it and rubbing gently across his wrist.

            “Lucas, try to breathe slower.  You need to slow your breathing down, Lukey,” Len said, reaching up to push the hair back on his forehead.  Lucas opened his eyes and looked at him.  He was hyperventilating, the noise harsh in the room.  “It’ll help, Luke, I promise,” Len said.  “Just try to breathe a little slower – focus on that – focus on taking deep breaths for me.  There you go, that’s better.  That’s better, Lukey.  Nice and slow.”

            Lucas slowly started to breathe a little slower, a little deeper.  He was trembling, eyes locked on Len’s as Len breathed with him.

            “That’s it,” Len said.  He wiped away a tear from Lucas’s face with his thumb.  “You’re doing great, Lukey.  It’s OK.  Everything’s OK.”

            “Lucas,” Caitlin said gently, “can you give me a one to ten on the pain now?”

            Lucas started a little.  “S-six,” he said.

            “OK,” she said, “that’s good.  Can you tell me where it hurts?”

            He trembled some more.  “I-it – m-my head – is worst, but – it – everywhere.  It – it hurts everywhere.”

            “Can you describe it?” she asked, her tone still gentle, hand rubbing softly on his shoulder.  “Is it an ache?  Or is it sharper?  Pulsing?”

            “B-both,” he said, “i-it – it aches – everything aches, but it – it burns too – it – it started hurting more, and then – then it – it got so bad – i-it hurt s-so much –”

            “Easy,” Len said, “it’s OK.  Keep breathing.  You’re OK now.”

            “OK,” Caitlin said, “I think I took care of it, but if that happens again, let us know right away, OK?  And I can give you something that should take care of it before it gets bad again.”

            Lucas nodded.  He was still breathing too fast, still trembling, and he was very pale.  He was obviously very shaken up still, even if the pain had gone down.

            “Can you drink something for me, Luke?” Caitlin asked.  She came over with some orange juice a minute later.  Lucas took it in shaking hands, using a straw to drink some.

            “That’s good,” she said.

            “When c-can I go home?” he asked.  He looked back at Len.  “I wanna go home,” he said, and his voice cracked.  “Please – please, I wanna go home, Da.”

            “I need you to stay right now so we can make sure what just happened doesn’t happen again,” Caitlin said.

            “Can you take the IV out?” he asked, looking back at Caitlin again.

            “I can’t yet, Luke,” she said.

            He trembled.  “Please,” he said, “please, I just want it out.  Please, Auntie Cait, I wannit out.”  There were tears in his eyes again.

            “I can’t, Luke, you need the fluids,” she said, “and if anything happens again, you need it in so I can give you the drugs to stop any more incidents.”

            “I’ll drink more,” he said, his voice desperate.  “A-a-and you can – you can just put in another – if – if it happens again.  Please – please, I want it out.”

            “Lukey,” Len said gently, “Luke, look at me.”  He cupped the side of Lucas’s face again.  A tear ran down it.  He was so pale, his face a white sheet.  Len wiped the tear away again, even as another fell down his face.  “It has to stay in right now,” he said gently, his voice low, tone soft, “As soon as it can come out we’ll get it out for you, OK?  But right now it has to stay in.”

            “I wanna go home, Da,” Lucas said, and his face crumpled, “please, Da, I can’t do this anymore – please, I wanna go home, I wanna go ho-ome.”

            Len leaned forward and brought him in close, in a tight hug and Lucas cried against his shoulder, shaking.  Len rubbed his back.

            “Shh,” he said, “shh, it’s OK.  You’re gonna be OK, Lukey.  Deep breaths.  It’s alright.  Everything’s alright.”

            Barry got up suddenly.  In a second he was out of the room, gone.  Len looked over, alarmed, but didn’t move.  Lucas hadn’t appeared to notice, was still gripping tightly onto him.  He shared a look with Caitlin, and then she headed for the hallway.

            It didn’t take her long to find him.  He was vomiting in the bathroom two doors down.

            She helped him get to a chair in the room next door, had him put his head between his knees and breathe deeply to stop the dizziness that threatened to dissolve into a fainting spell.  She rubbed his back as he took in long breaths.

            “Oh, God, Caitlin,” he said.

            “He’s OK,” Caitlin reminded him, “He’s going to be fine, Barry.  He’s scared right now, and he’s upset.  I know it’s hard to watch, but he will be OK.”

            “Oh God, Caitlin, he’s terrified,” Barry said, his voice cracking.  “He’s terrified and in pain and he – he –”

            “Slowly, Barry,” Caitlin said as he heaved in a breath.  “Slowly.”

            “He just wants to go home,” Barry said, his voice tight and small.  “God, Caitlin, I know – I know exactly what that – I –”  He gagged suddenly, and Caitlin snagged a trash can in time for him to spit up bile and then continue dry heaving over the wastebasket.

            “I know,” she said, “I know, Barry.”

            “I know what that feels like,” he said, “and – Lukey, he – he doesn’t deserve this, Caitlin, he’s just a kid, he’s just –”

            “No one deserves this, Barry,” she said.  “I don’t know if this is helpful, Barry, but he’s reacting normally.  He’s in a distressing situation, and he’s in pain.  He’s looking for comfort, Barry.  That’s all.”

            Barry stood up.  “I need to –”  A dizzying wash ran over him and his vision blacked out as he grabbed at a table.  Caitlin rushed forward, putting her hands on his arms.

            “You need to sit down,” she said, helping him back down.  Barry shook his head.  She took his wrist and felt his pulse.  “You’re going into shock, Barry,” she said.

            “Shock,” he repeated, and then shook his head.  “I’m fine.  I just – I need –”

            “To sit, and take deep breaths, and calm down before you go back in there,” she said, “it’s not going to help anyone if you pass out the second you walk in the door.”  Caitlin took a deep breath, and then kneeled down in front of him, taking his hands in hers.  “Barry, I know this is very hard for you to see.  He’s in pain, and scared, and upset, and that can be very difficult to watch for anyone you care about – I can’t imagine what it’s like with your own child.  But he’s going to be OK, Barry – just like all the times you were in pain and scared and upset and then were fine.  OK?  He’s going to heal, and you’ll take him home and he’ll recover from this.  He’s going to be OK.”

            Barry’s throat was tight, and it was all he could do to just nod.

 

 

 

 

            When they came back, Len was stroking through Lucas’s hair, holding one of his hands, and Lucas was lying back in the bed.  His face was still too pale, and he was still trembling a bit, but his breathing was back under control, if just a little too fast.

            “Dad,” he said when he saw him come back in.  Barry gave him a smile, swallowing down the rise of emotion in his throat again.

            “Hey, Lukey,” he said.  Len let go of his hand and Barry took it instead.  The one with the IV in it was under the blanket now, where Len had placed it, covering it so Lucas didn’t have to look at it.

            Lucas fell asleep a short while later.  Len got a call around ten from Michael.

            “He’s OK – there was a problem last night, so he’s not feeling good, but he’s going to be fine,” Lens said.  He glanced at Lucas, but he didn’t move one bit at the noise, so kept going.  “I don’t know… it might be better for you guys to wait until we come home to see him… he’s really not feeling very well right now… Michael – yes, I know, but he – OK – Leah – Leah, slow down.  No, Leah, I really think you should wait.  Yes, I – alright, look, I’ll give you a call when he wakes up, OK?  If he’s feeling up to it you guys can come see him.  OK.  Love you too – bye.”

            Barry looked up, an eyebrow raised.

            “The kids want to see him,” Len said, “I told them they need to wait.  We can ask him if he wants visitors once he wakes up.”

            “When do you think we can take him home?” Barry asked Caitlin.  She looked up from where she was reading something off a computer.

            “I’ll need to see how he’s feeling,” she said, “and take another blood test.  If the levels are low enough, he should be able to go home this afternoon.”

            Lucas wound up waking up a couple hours later.  He was groggy and confused when his eyes blinked open.

            “Da?” he said.  His voice was rough and he winced, shifting on the bed.

            “Hey, Lukey,” Len said.  He smiled at him, put one hand on his arm.  “How are you feeling?”

            Lucas winced again.  “Like I got hit by a truck,” he said.  A flash of pain crossed his face as he cringed, taking a sharp breath.

            “Better than last night or worse?” Len asked.

            “Um… better,” he said, but he still looked pained.

            “What number?” Barry asked.  “On a scale of one to ten?”

            “Um… five,” Lucas said.  He settled down against the pillows on the bed, propping himself up more.  He shivered, and Barry pushed the blanket up higher on his chest.  Lucas took it and brought it to his chin.  He glanced at the IV in his hand, and then quickly looked away.  He shifted and then did it again, looking over and looking away just as fast, before squirming some.  “Can… can I have the IV out yet?” he asked.  He looked anxiously from Len to Barry to Caitlin, and then back again.

            “No quite yet, Luke,” Caitlin said. 

            He deflated, a miserable frown on his face.  He glanced at the IV again before sticking his hand under the blanket where he couldn’t see it.

            “Could you drink some more orange juice for me?” Caitlin said, and handed him a glass.  Lucas took it, sipping some.

            They put on the TV for him, let him pick a show on Netflix.  He was distracted though, kept fiddling with the hand with the IV in it and playing with the blanket over him.  Caitlin gave him about a half hour, hoping he would settle down, but it didn’t appear to be happening.  Then she came over with the blood collection kit.

            “Luke,” she said, “I think you’ll be all set to go home in a few hours, but before you go I need to take another blood sample.”

            Lucas’s face fell, and then was quickly taken over with fear.  He looked from her to Len and Barry again, and then quickly shook his head.

            “It’s OK, Luke,” Len said, “it’ll only take a minute.”

            Lucas made a noise in his throat, shrinking back as Caitlin set the tray down on a table next to them.  Len put an arm around him while Barr took his free hand.  Lucas shook his head again, getting even paler.

            “You’ve done plenty of them before, Luke,” Len said, “they barely hurt at all, and it’ll be all done in a minute.”

            “No,” Lucas said, pulling away when Caitlin went to take his hand.  He drew it in tight towards his chest.

            “I know you’re already anxious,” Len said carefully, “and that’s making this harder, but you’ve done lots of these before, Luke.  Blood tests aren’t bad.  You know that.  They’re not bad, not a big deal.   I know you can do it.”

            But Lucas shook his head.  “N-not right now – please, no.”

            “It’s OK, Luke,” Barry said, giving his hand a squeeze.  “Just look over here, or at the TV.  It’ll be done before you know it.”

            “No – no, I don’t – no,” Lucas said, still refusing to give Caitlin his arm.  Tears were gathering in his eyes.  “Not – not right now.  Please, I can’t, Da – Dad, no.”

            Len took a long breath.  Usually Lucas wasn’t bad with needles – was fine with simple shots and blood tests.  He didn’t like IV’s, but he had more trouble with anything that was prolonged really.  He was usually fine with blood tests though – he would grumble a little, look away, and then it would be done.  He was so obviously already at the end of his rope though, and he was only getting increasingly distressed now.

            “Luke, I promise, I’ll get it over with nice and fast,” Caitlin said, “one quick sting, then it’ll be done.  But I really need you to let me, Lucas.”

            Lucas turned into Len, hiding his face and moving his arms in, farther away from Caitlin.  “Please,” he breathed, sounding like he was going to start crying again.  “Please, don’t.”

            “We need you to let Aunt Caitlin have a look, Lukey,” Len said gently, “it’ll be all over in just a minute, and then you can relax again, OK?”

            “No-o,” Luke said, his voice shaking.  He was trembling all over now.

            “I’m sorry, Lukey, we really need to,” Len said.  He started to push back, to try to position Luke a little more forward, to get him turned back again.  He only pressed farther against Len.  “Luke, I need you to sit up,” Len said.

            “Please don’t, please,” Lucas said, “I – I can’t.  I’m sorry – I’m sorry, please.”

            “Hey,” Barry said, squeezing Luke’s hand again where he still had it.  “You don’t have anything to apologize for right now, OK?  Let’s just get through this, alright?  Can you look at me, Luke?”

            Lucas turned enough so he could face him, and Barry gave him a weak smile.

            “That’s it,” he said, squeezing his hand again.

            “D-Dad,” Lucas said, “I – please, I don’t want to. Please, I – I –”

            “I know,” Barry said, “I know, Luke.  Believe me, I do, I really do, but I need you to just try to relax for a minute, OK?  I need you to think about this with me.  It’s just a blood test.  I know that seems really awful, and just all too much right now, but think about all the times you’ve done it before.  It was OK then, and it’ll be OK now, Luke.  You’re going to be just fine.  Can you tell me what’s scaring you right now?”

            “I – I just – I don’t – I don’t want to do anything e-else,” he said, “please, Dad, it’s – it’s too much, please.”

            “I know it feels that way,” Barry said, “and everything is really overwhelming right now, but this is just a little prick, Luke.  You’ll barely feel it, and then it’ll be all done with.”

            “Can you give Caitlin your arm now, Lukey?” Len said, “so we can just get this over with.”

            Lucas shook.  Caitlin gently took his arm, and he didn’t fight her this time, but he started to tremble harder, went even paler.  He was staring right at Barry, but his breathing was getting faster and faster.

            “That’s it,” Barry said, “that’s good.  You’re doing so good, Lukey.  Try to breathe a little slower for me, OK?  Can you do that?  Just a little slower?  You’re hyperventilating there, Luke.”

            Lucas swallowed hard and then tried to take a deeper breath.

            “That’s good, that’s really good, Lukey,” Barry said, as Lucas took in a few more deeper, shuddering breaths.

            “Little prick now,” Caitlin said.

            Lucas flinched as Caitlin inserted the needle.  The deep breathing he was doing went right out the window and suddenly he was hyperventilating and shaking so hard he was almost vibrating.

            “Easy, easy,” Len said, “you’re OK.  It’s OK.”

            “Deep breaths,” Barry said, “deep breaths, Lukey.  It’s alright.”

            “Done,” Caitlin said, just a minute later, and removed the needle and placed a bandage in its place.  Lucas started to cry.

            “Hey, it’s all done,” Barry said, “It’s all done, Lukey, I’m so proud of you.  You did so well.  It’s all over, Lucas.”

            “I – I w-want – I –IV, _p-p-please_ ,” Lucas stuttered.

            “Shh, you’re OK,” Len said, “it’s OK, Lucas.”  He spoke firmly now, rubbing his shoulder where his arm was wrapped around him.  “It’s all done.  It’s OK.”

            It took another twenty minutes for Lucas to calm down again, to stop trembling and relax.  He was still very unhappy about the IV, but he stopped begging them to take it out again. 

            “Michael and Leah called,” Len said once he had calmed down.  “They’re really worried about you, and they want to come see you, if you’re feeling up to it.  I think Wentworth and Cyrus would like to come too.”

            Lucas hesitated.  “Can you ask them to bring a blanket?” he said. 

            Len frowned, and Barry’s brow furrowed.  “We can get you another blanket if you’re cold,” Barry said.

            “I – I want one from home,” Lucas said, and his face went red for a moment.

            “Oh, OK,” Barry said, “we can ask them to bring one.”

            “Do you want anything else?” Len asked.

            “Um… just… my pillow, maybe.”

            So Len called Michael back, and in another half hour they had four kids rushing in the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :) Please review and let me know what you thought! Requests welcome (and for those of you who already made requests, I haven't forgotten, I was just already working on stuff - I will get to it!) Thanks!


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